Archive for September, 2009|Monthly archive page

Oh just join in the sarcasm with me for this one. I realize the once in a while crass of my nature.

Want your future baby to look like a star? You have the choice! At the California Cryobank you can see the potential hotness [yes, defined by looks] of your li’l tike with the click of a mouse.

From the site: “Researched and selected from the limitless expanses of the internet, CCB Donor Look-a-Likes™ can be actors, athletes, musicians, or anyone else famous enough to be found on the web… CCB Donor Look-a-Likes™ are judged to be the best of our subjective abilities.” And “while some banks charge extra for their “preferred” donors, CCB donors are all premium level, each possessing excellent health histories and unique individual interests and talents.” Fantastic! Looks and spotless health.

But what’s health! Does this mean future parents will never have to worry that their celebrity-esque tots will ever have cardiovascular diseases? And never worry of the costs of addictions or bouts of lonely here and there? Wait… Where does the great literature come from then? Is that in the “interests and talents?” Must be. Wow. What more could we ask for?

Oh yes: geniuses. But the Biopolitical Times Blog brings up the discussion that this may prove more “successful” than the Nobel Sperm Bank of ghost past. But the reasoning: “Given America’s obsession with celebrity and appearance, it wouldn’t be entirely surprising if companies pushing celebrity knock-off sperm see more demand than the Nobel sperm bank.”

Now. I find this a wee bit off. To think that Americans are the only ones that value looks is just downright unfair. While we are on this wagon: all of the great models come from Eastern Europe where they never eat and from the north of Latin America where plastic surgery is booming. Italy and France adore fashion which is by definition adoring hot looks. India has the new Hollywood, and we know what that brings: celebrities! I could also go on about China – they’ve got the web, too, probably censoring out the bad lookers anyway – and Southeast Asia and the look of the sex worker… but that might be in poor taste.

In short, I wonder in earnest, where exactly are the culture lines in hotness?

Partially related. Attraction at a glance is how species procreate. Evolution is neat like that. No biggy. (biologists, forgive the simplification) But I know there’s a cult following for smarties. And we all know that cult followings are where the cool is. Ref: Blade Runner. But that’s quite another post, isn’t it. And it probably exists.

Tomorrow, 9/24/09 there will be a faculty/student walk out at the UC campuses to protest recent budget-cut decisions. This is the _first_ day of classes for a few campuses [thanks for the choice date, but whatever]. UC faculty are not unionized; this is a big deal. It was recommended by the Academic Senate that furloughs be taken during instructional days (reason below). This was rejected by the Chancellors and the UC Office of the President (UCOP):

“The reason for this unilateral decision is clear: the administration seeks to evade public accountability for the manner in which it has managed the budget crisis. It was the “optics” of the Senate Council’s recommendation that were judged untenable. The Office of the President has failed to arrive at a plan that would protect the interests of both students and workers. It wishes to disguise the harm this failure has done to the University’s mission. Or better: it seeks to shift the blame for this failure to the faculty, should we be so bold as to hold the President accountable to the consequences of his own plan. Toward this evasion, UCOP has flagrantly erased the difference between a furlough and a paycut, presenting the latter in the guise of the former.

The ten Academic Senates unanimously mandated furloughs taken on instructional days for good reasons. These reasons exceed the particular interests of the faculty; they pertain to the collective interests of all workers and students. Instructional furloughs pressure the state to cease defunding the UC system, and they pressure the Office of the President to confront the fact that its overall approach to budget reform is unsustainable and unjust. UCOP seeks to alleviate that pressure by feigning the minimal impact of cuts upon the operations of the University and the education of its students. By doing so it makes clear its real interest: not to engage in a serious reevaluation of budgetary priorities, but to occlude the necessity of doing so.”

My friend, Tarra, has launched a custom piñata company (see her awesomeness attached). You can view all the info at this website: http://www.thudapinatacompany.com/In addition, there will be a hoppin’ rockin’ bbq’n party this Saturday. Open invite, info on website. Dirt Dress will be playing, too. Fun fun! And yours truly will be there.